


There's a Place Where We Don't Have to Feel Unknown

by lost_in_the_in_between



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: 4+1, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, And the One Time He Came Out to Everyone, Anxiety, Bullying, Connor Lives, Depression, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, GSA, Gen, Hints of Kleinsen, Hints of Tree Bros, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, I'm trying not to be though sorry, If You Squint - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Maybe a little bit of Sincerely Three, Not Really About Ships Though, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Swearing, Tags May Change, The Four Times Someone Came Out to Evan, Trans Male Character, Transphobia, Wholesome Friendship, maybe slightly OOC, trans connor murphy, zolana
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-10-31 22:55:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10909152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lost_in_the_in_between/pseuds/lost_in_the_in_between
Summary: “Um, I’m sorry, but what’s GSA?” Evan asked, twirling his wooden pencil in his hands. Alana’s eyebrows rose as she looked up, making brief eye contact with him before he panicked and studied his desk once more.“Oh! Sorry, it stands for Genders and Sexualities Alliance. We meet to discuss current issues and have a safe space to hang out without having to worry about harassment. I’m the president.”





	1. Jared Kleinman - Freshman Year

“J‐Jared? Is everything okay?” Evan called, nervously tapping on Jared’s bedroom door. The text he had received had sounded urgent; he hoped Jared hadn’t finally done something stupid enough to seriously hurt himself. Neither one of them could drive Jared to the hospital because neither one of them had a driver’s license or a car － Jared would have to ride in the basket on the front of the old, rusty bike Evan had bought with some of his leftover Bar Mitzvah money.

Upon hearing only a faint whine, Evan pushed open the door. If Jared really didn’t want him to come in, he would have stopped Evan. Anxiously, Evan closed the door behind him and turned to look at the familiar bedroom.

At first, he didn’t see Jared anywhere. He almost turned and went to look throughout the rest of the house － maybe Jared was actually hiding in the recently refurbished basement? － when he noticed the lump in Jared’s bed. Cautiously, Evan approached the Jared‐lump and sat beside it.

“Are you－are you okay? Are you hurt? Or did you just get another bad haircut, because I really don’t think the last one was that bad. You probably shouldn’t have hidden in your room for days. Really, it looked fine－”

The lump shifted, a red face appearing from underneath the blankets. Jared’s eyes were bloodshot and swollen; clearly, he had been crying. Frowning, Evan’s eyes widened slightly. He couldn’t remember the last time he had really seen Jared cry. Well, he had cried a few nights ago when they had watched _Titanic_ upon Jared’s insistence, but that was because it was _Titanic_.

“What happened?” Evan asked, his voice softening. “Or－you don’t have to tell me. I’ll just sit here.”

Jared sat up, pushing the blankets down to his waist. Wiping his face with the back of his hand, Jared reached for his glasses lying on his bedside table. He stared at Evan, his lip quivering again. They sat in silence for a few minutes, just staring at one another.

“Uh － promise me you won’t hate me?” asked Jared, finally. His gaze shifted to his lap as if he didn’t want to see Evan’s reaction. Evan frowned, completely thrown off by the question. What in the world could Jared have done to make Evan hate him? Had he told one of the bullies at school one of Evan’s secrets, like the fact that he thought Natalie from his band class was really pretty and smelled nice and he maybe, sort of had a crush on her? Whatever it was, it was definitely bothering Jared enough to make him cry. Evan nodded, biting his nails.

“I‐I promise. Jared, what is it?”

Jared took a deep breath, his face still a vibrant crimson. Closing his eyes tightly, Jared let the breath out and took another. His hands balled into fists and he furiously wiped at his cheeks again, knocking his glasses askew.

“I’m...I'm gay.”

Silence filled the room following Jared’s confession. Neither boy said a word, they just remained frozen. It was almost as if someone had pressed pause on a movie, just before the action began. Jared’s hands had begun to shake slightly and he bit his lip so hard Evan worried he might make it bleed.

“Okay.”

Snapping his head up, Jared finally looked at Evan. His mouth fell open, a million questions flashing through his mind. Sitting calmly beside him, Evan continued biting his nails. Honestly, he had been expecting something that was actually bad. Jared being gay hadn’t even crossed his mind, really. Not that he hadn’t entirely suspected it － even _Evan_ could tell when he was being checked out － but Jared had sounded so freaked out over text. From the way he had acted, Evan had thought that maybe Jared had done something bad.

“ _'Okay?’_ What do you mean _‘okay?’_ ”

“I mean _okay_ ,” replied Evan. Leaning back, he sat against the headboard beside Jared. Jared still had tears on his face, Evan could tell, but he looked a little less upset.

“It’s okay, Jared. To like guys. I don’t care,” He told Jared. “It’s not wrong, or anything.”

A pair of thin but strong arms wrapped around him, causing Evan to flinch slightly. Once his brain caught up and reminded him that it was just Jared, Evan leaned into the hug, allowing the other boy to cry into his shoulder. They sat quietly, Evan staring at the wall opposite them, Jared soaking his shoulder. Eventually, he sat up and wiped his face. Evan tried not to grimace as he handed Jared a tissue from his nightstand for the snot.

“You’re the first person I’ve told,” Jared admitted, leaning over to throw the tissue away. As Jared turned to face him once more, Evan felt this pang in his chest. Jared’s eyes were red and watery still; his face was blotchy. Clearly, this had been tearing Jared up for awhile.

“I’m glad that you, uh, trusted me enough for that.”

Jared nodded, glancing back down at his comforter. “Is it...is it really okay?”  
  
Evan nodded, confirming his earlier statement. Maybe it wouldn’t be okay with the other boys at school, and maybe Jared’s parents wouldn’t be thrilled, but there was nothing wrong with Jared. Well, nothing wrong with his sexuality. Evan thought his taste in jokes were a little questionable sometimes, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with a boy who liked other boys.

“Do you want to play a video game?” He asked, knowing that might cheer Jared up. Sure enough, the shorter boy perked up, smiling at Evan’s question. He nodded, jumping up to turn his TV on and grab the controllers. They settled in for a long day of Jared kicking Evan’s ass, both happy to have the other as a friend.

 


	2. Alana Beck - Fall of Sophomore Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as stated in the chapter title, this takes place during the fall semester of Evan's sophomore year in high school.
> 
> There's a homophobic slur, as well as brief mentions of homophobia. Just wanted to give everyone a head's up!

Working on group projects was always tricky, but especially so when you lacked friends in the class － or in Evan’s case, when you lacked friends in general. He shared very few classes with Jared, due mostly to the other’s affinity for STEM subjects. Evan was terrible at math and only okay at science; he preferred history and English, and it showed. They were the only Honors courses he was in, while Jared ruled Honors Math with an iron fist.

When Ms. Arnold, the Honors English teacher, had announced that they would be partnering up to give a presentation on _Julius Caesar_ , Evan had felt ill. He hated presenting things to the class, but he hated working with strangers even more. Everyone else would pair up with friends, leaving only him and whoever was sick that day to work together. That person would do none of the work, then grumble and complain to their friends about how weird Evan was, and how stupid he was and how stupid this project was－

“Hi, Evan! Do you already have a partner?” His head snapped up and he briefly made eye contact with Alana Beck before looking away. Standing beside his desk, Alana’s manicured hands tightly clutching the straps of her backpack.

“Uh, no,” admitted Evan quietly. He chewed on the end of his pencil, his gaze firmly locked on the wooden desk. Or was it plastic painted to look like wood? He wasn’t sure, but probably the latter of the two.

“Great! Want to work together?” Alana asked, taking the seat beside him without waiting for an answer. Evan nodded anyway. Saying no to Alana Beck was impossible; Evan didn’t even want to try it. She quickly got to work setting up shop; with efficiency, she had her laptop out, her notes in order, and her copy of the Shakespearean tragedy (with pages marked with different colored sticky tabs) open.

“So, when are you available to work on this outside of class? I know Ms. Arnold said that we didn’t have to, but I like to give every assignment 150%.”

Evan opened his mouth, ready to explain that he was literally always free except when he had therapy, or on the random days when Jared wanted to hang out, but Alana steam-rolled right along.

“I’m busy after school most days, but I can probably squeeze in an hour in between GSA and Swim Team.” Pulling out her planner, she scanned the upcoming week, looking for space in between the color-coded blocks. Evan frowned slightly in confusion, glancing over at her.

“Um, I’m sorry, but what’s GSA?” He asked, twirling his wooden pencil in his hands. Alana’s eyebrows rose as she looked up, making brief eye contact with him before he panicked and studied his desk once more.

“Oh! Sorry, it stands for Genders and Sexualities Alliance. We meet to discuss current issues and have a safe space to hang out without having to worry about harassment. I’m the president.”

Evan’s eyebrows rose; he hadn’t been aware that the school had a club like that. They lived in a fairly liberal area, but he knew kids were still bullied and even threatened for who they dated or were attracted to. Just a few weeks ago, Jared had been shoved into a locker and called a fag for having a pride button on his backpack.

“Straight allies can join too,” Alana added, noticing his expression. Slowly, Evan nodded and looked back at her.

“Um, I-I think I want to. Join. Um, my friend. Jared? Uh－”

“Jared Kleinman?” She cut him off, her eyes narrowing slightly. Gulping, Evan nodded again. “Oh my God. I had no idea you two were friends! He’s currently banned. Temporarily.”

Evan’s eyes widened.

“What did he...what did he do?”

Alana sighed, removing her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose. After a second, she looked back up at Evan, still clearly annoyed.

“He hacked into my laptop to change the Powerpoint I had created for the meeting.” At Evan’s questioning look, she only sighed again. “He blasted _I’m Coming Out_ over the speakers and listed his cell phone number on one of the slides. It was his first meeting!”

“He’s, um, very passionate.” Evan winced, trying not to laugh at the image of Jared sitting, watching the chaos around him as Diana Ross suddenly blasted through Alana’s laptop speakers.

“He started dancing to it,” she groaned. “I mean, I’m all for being loud and proud, but we had serious things to discuss, like important state-wide legislation, and how to handle the rise in transphobia at our school. No one could stop talking about it, so now we’ve got to squeeze all of those things into today’s meeting. But, you should still totally come by!”

Shrugging, Evan looked back at his notes. “Um, maybe. I － um, I have a lot of homework.” And if Jared wasn’t going to be there, then Evan wouldn’t know anyone and everyone would think he was weird for being one of the only straight people to show up and someone would probably see him go in and then they would shove him tomorrow and maybe even steal his bike and then he wouldn’t have any way of getting home except walking and then he would get jumped and his mom would be disappointed that he was getting bullied again.

“Well, Jared is allowed to come back in two weeks if you want to come then.” Alana shot him a pointed look, and Evan felt his face flush. He opened his mouth to try and correct her because no, he was not dating Jared and would never date Jared because Evan was straight, but she just held up a hand. “It’s fine! I wasn’t ready to come out until last year. My parents were super okay with it though! Now I’m one of the only out lesbians at our school, and I’m running the GSA. I know it’s a cliche, but it’s true: it does get better.”

“Uh, well, um, thanks. But. But, Jared and I aren’t. We aren’t um, dating. Or anything like that! He’s just my best friend.”

Alana nodded, looking unfazed.

“Alright, okay. I won’t push. But like I said, straight allies can join, so think about it, okay?”

“I will. I promise.”

“Fantastic! Now, back to _Julius Caesar_.”


	3. Connor Murphy - Spring of Sophomore Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there's some transphobic and just generally nasty stuff at the beginning, just to warn you. 
> 
> This takes place around spring of Evan's sophomore year.
> 
> If you have any questions or want to talk to me about the story, my Tumblr is @lost-in-the-in-between!

“Aww, I like your nails, Murphy! Wanna come over after school and paint mine? I’ll even braid your hair!”

Evan could hear the sneers and laughter before he had even rounded the corner. The taunts were enough to make his hair stand on end, but the clear contempt in their voices made him freeze in his tracks.

“I’ve seen a lot of fugly chicks, but you take it to a new level.”

If Evan kept walking, what would happen? He could just leave and pretend he had never heard anything. Then maybe the jerks wouldn’t bother him and he could just move on with his life. But...but then he was just as bad as they were, wasn’t he? If he didn’t help, then he was only letting the problem get worse. That was what Alana had said at the last meeting, right?

Before he could make up his mind one way or another, the sharp sound of a body colliding with the hard metal of the lockers echoed through the halls. Horrible, jeering laughter followed, ringing through Evan’s ears until that was all he could hear. No, that wasn’t true. He could hear the little voice in the back of his head that always reminded him of how much of a loser he was, only now it was calling him a baby and a coward for not stepping in and helping the other kid.

It was quiet for a few minutes, and Evan assumed they had finally left, meaning it was safe for him to continue on his way to the library. Cautiously, he peered around the corner to spot Connor Murphy still lying on the ground, hands balled into fists and hair wild.

Connor’s head snapped towards Evan as the anxious boy squeaked, surprised to see Connor still there.

“What the fuck do you want?” Connor snapped, glaring up at Evan. Stepping fully around the corner, Evan held his hands out to show he wasn’t going to do anything.

“N-Nothing. I don’t, um, want anything,” Evan said. Connor didn’t let his guard down, only kept scowling at Evan.

“I, um. I heard. I’m sorry.” Nervously stepping closer, Evan offered Connor a hand up. Connor only narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Evan’s out-stretched palm before pushing himself up. Awkwardly, Evan retracted his hand and shoved it into his pocket, trying not to let his anxiety get the better of him.

“What, want to make fun of the freak too?” demanded Connor, stepping closer to Evan. Before he knew it, his own back was hitting the a locker on the opposite side of the hall in an attempt to put space between himself and Connor.

“No! No! I just, um, I’m sorry. That that happened.”

Connor only stepped closer, his eyes alight with anger.

“I don’t need your fucking pity, Hansen.”

Evan shook his head rapidly, his breath catching as Connor finally stepped close enough to touch him. Half of Evan was worried that Connor was going to hit him, and the other half was screaming because no one had ever really been this close to him before besides his mother and _wow_ , Connor’s eyes were pretty. Objectively speaking. In a platonic way.

After a beat of silence, thick with tension, Connor took a step back. Air came rushing back into Evan’s lungs, relief and disappointment filling him momentarily. His hands clutched the hem of his green t-shirt, rolling it between his fingers.

“You should come to GSA,” Evan blurted before he realized he had even opened his mouth. Connor’s face shifted from anger to confusion as he studied Evan.

“It’s, um. It’s a club.”

“I know what it is,” Connor snapped, causing Evan to flush in embarrassment.

“Right, yeah. Sorry.” He took a deep breath, staring at the floor intently. “It’s just. It’s nice, and um. You never seem to like, sit with anyone or talk to anyone and everyone there is nice so I think you would, um, enjoy it. You should...you should come.”

Wearily, Connor ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair, his black nail polish standing out starkly against his pale skin. It caught Evan’s eye, and he watched the motion before flushing again and glancing back down at the tiled floor.

“You go?”

Evan nodded, biting his own plain, chewed-up fingernails.

“...Maybe. Um, maybe I’ll go.”

He couldn’t fight the grin that spread across his face as he looked back up at Connor. Wiping his jagged nails on his thigh, Evan beamed.

“Oh, good! Um, the meetings are on Tuesdays. After school, in Mr. Jacobs’ room.”

“Okay. Uh, see you there, I guess.” Connor shrugged, turning to leave.

“Uh, we also sometimes sit together at lunch. In the cafeteria. Me, Alana Beck, and uh, Jared Kleinman. If you wanted to sit with us, that would be cool. Um, but don’t feel like you have to. It would just be cool if you did.”

Connor studied his face, trying to see if he was joking or not. Evan’s expression was genuine though, which was not what Connor had been anticipating. After an awkward beat, he slowly smiled, something Evan had never seen before.

“...Okay. Yeah. Maybe.”

Evan grinned again, pleased with the outcome. Maybe he hadn’t saved Connor from bullies, but maybe he could save him from feeling so alone all the time.

 


	4. Zoe Murphy - Fall of Junior Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place during the fall semester of Evan's junior year of high school, which would be Zoe's sophomore year. 
> 
> CW: Description/Mention of past self-harm (not graphic), and Larry's not the most accepting dad, but no actual homophobic or transphobic language is used.

Surprisingly, it hadn’t taken long for everyone to warm up to Connor. He and Jared still butted heads sometimes, but even they had managed to put aside their differences and become friends after a while. That was mostly thanks to Evan’s efforts, as well as Alana’s determination that the GSA remain a safe, inclusive space.

Another surprising development was the occasional sleepovers the guys had. Was it cool to still have sleepovers in high school? Probably not, but it wasn’t like any of them were actually popular. It didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.

Most of the time, they camped out in Jared’s basement, playing video games and eating pizza. It was nice. None of them had ever really had regular weekend plans before, let alone actual supportive friends to spend time with. All of them had trouble sleeping, which led to a lot of deep, personal conversations at three in the morning. Jared and Evan had found out a lot about Connor’s shitty, unaccepting father, and the self-inflicted scars that ran up and down Connor’s arms. Connor and Jared had listened to Evan cry about not really knowing his dad, and about how much of a burden he was to his mom. Evan and Connor had broken down the defensive shell Jared put up, and had managed to actually see some of his deep insecurities, like his physical appearance and his need to be liked by those around him.

Things weren’t perfect by any means, but they were there for each other. For the first time ever, they had an actual support system to rely on. They also had Alana, but she was usually too busy to hang out very much outside of GSA, and Jared’s mother still thought he was straight and therefore did not approve of girls staying the night.

Their plans had, unfortunately, fallen through tonight. Jared’s younger cousin’s Bar Mitzvah was the following day, so he had left school early with plans to drive to Long Island with his parents and two sisters, leaving Evan and Connor without a place to chill.

Normally, they would have just gone to Evan’s house, but Heidi was sick with the flu. Neither one of them wanted to bother her because she really needed the rest. So, as a very last resort, it was decided that they would hang out at the Murphy’s home.

Things were still very shaky over there, though. Connor had come out over the summer; he’d told his parents that he was gay, and things had been tense ever since. Larry hadn’t kicked him out － he had yelled and screamed quite a bit though. Cynthia had cried, but Connor wasn’t sure if that was because of their fighting or because she was horrified at the thought of having a son that was both trans and gay. Zoe, surprisingly, had come to his defense, pointing out how disgusting it was to not accept their child for being himself.

Needless to say, all four Murphys were still trying to figure out how to adjust to the news.

Connor bringing Evan over was big, even if they weren’t dating. Both boys had had a hard time trying to convince Larry and Cynthia that they were really just friends and that Evan was straight, but after a while, they finally agreed to let Evan stay the night in Connor’s room.

They had strayed from their usual Friday night routine, mostly because Connor didn’t own any video games. Instead, Evan read while Connor sketched for a while before the taller boy had gotten fidgety and declared that he was going to go shower.

Evan’s eyes had scanned the page he had been reading, but he found he could no longer comprehend anything. His mind was somewhere else.

“...Evan?” His head snapped up towards Connor’s open door, where the insanely beautiful Zoe Murphy stood. She leaned against his doorframe, her light brown hair loose around her shoulders. He felt his mouth go dry as he stared at her. Oh, wait. She was talking to him. _Snap out of it snap out of it snap out of it._

“－my brother?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Um, what?” He gulped, wiping his hands subconsciously on his pants.

“I asked if you were dating my brother?” Zoe repeated, smirking slightly. It was the same smirk Connor wore most of the time now, which didn’t really help with his concentration. Flushing in embarrassment, Evan began rapidly shaking his head.

“No! I’m not dating Connor, we’re just friends!” argued Evan, causing Zoe to stare at him in concern.

“Okay, okay! Sorry,” She said, throwing her hands up. “I didn’t mean to stress you out. I was just wondering.”

“Oh, o-okay.” Evan nodded, avoiding eye contact.

“It’s just...you’ve been hanging out with him a lot. Sorry for assuming, that wasn’t cool,” Zoe frowned, shifting awkwardly. Evan shook his head again, frowning himself. He didn’t want to upset Zoe, but he also didn’t want her to think that he was seeing someone, in case she wanted to go out with him. But she didn’t, because no one wanted to go out with him, least of all the incredibly cool, alluring little sister of his best friend.

“No, it’s fine. Really. Um, yeah. But, I’m...straight? I like girls,” Evan said, tugging on a loose string on Connor’s bedspread. He didn’t even have to look up to know Zoe was looking at him skeptically.

“Me too,” She finally said, causing his eyes to snap back to her face. Smirking again, Zoe shrugged and studied the wall over his head. “And boys. I’m bisexual, but y’know, I haven’t said anything. My parents are still kind of freaking out over Connor, I don’t really want to add any more fuel to the fire. My dad would probably blame Connor for some reason.”

Evan actually laughed at that; Zoe finally looked back at him, narrowing her eyes slightly.

“Sorry, it’s just...that doesn’t make sense. Your dad is sort of insane.” Zoe snorted, nodding her head.

“Yes, he is. But trust me, if something he doesn't like or agree with happens in this house, he’s going to find some way to blame it on Connor.” Evan scowled, hating the thought of Connor being dragged into another fight with his dad over something he had absolutely no control over.

“Fuck yeah he is,” came Connor’s voice from the hallway. A second later, he appeared in a robe, towel drying his hair. Evan felt his whole body grow warm, his throat closing. He looked away quickly, avoiding Zoe’s knowing gaze.

“I’ll let you two get back to it, then,” Zoe said, ducking out of the room quickly. Rolling his eyes, Connor riffled through some of his drawers, pulling out pajamas and a sports bra.

“Uh, I’ll go change then.” He glanced back at Evan, who shook his head.

“No, I need to go brush my teeth anyway.”

Mustering all of his courage, Evan crossed the hall and tapped on Zoe’s door. She appeared a few seconds later, he hair now pulled back in a messy bun.

“You should, um, come to GSA. Sometime. If you want.” Evan rushed. Smiling slightly, Zoe nodded.

“Uh, yeah. That sounds cool...Alana Beck’s the president, isn't she?”

Frowning in confusion, Evan nodded, earning a wider grin from Zoe.

“Okay, I’ll definitely be there. It's on Tuesdays, right?”

“Yeah, in Mr. Jacobs’ room.”

Zoe nodded.

“Got it. Thanks, Evan.”

“Any－ anytime,” He said, smiling slightly as she shut the door. Evan brushed his teeth, then returned to Connor’s room where his smile only widened. Connor was already dozing off, his wet hair now pulled back in a bun.

“...what?” He grumbled, barely raising his head up to look at Evan.

“Nothing,” Evan shook his head, climbing into bed next to him. “You just never go to sleep early.”

“I’m tired. Sue me, Hansen,” Connor slurred, his voice thick with exhaustion. Chuckling, Evan leaned over him to turn off Connor’s beside lamp. “Night.”

“Good night, Connor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally decided to upload the remaining chapters of this fic for a few reasons:
> 
> 1) HAPPY PRIDE!!!! It's almost the end of the month, so I felt like I needed to finish this before July. Although, members of the LGBTQIA+ community should certainly be proud 24/7.
> 
> 2) Laura Dreyfuss basically confirmed that both Murphy kids are queer on Twitter!!! So, in honor of that, here is my bisexual queen Zoe Murphy coming out to Evan!
> 
> Thank you to the people who have commented or left kudos thus far! I appreciate your continued support for this :)


	5. Evan Hansen - Spring of Junior Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place towards the end of Evan's junior year.

For better or for worse, a lot had changed in the last couple of months. Zoe had officially come out and joined GSA, and had quickly caught Alana’s eye. They had begun dating in no time, and they were still happily together. Larry and Cynthia were beginning to accept both of their children more and more, though it wasn't always perfect. Larry still didn't always understand Connor, but he was trying to. Cynthia, on the other hand, had joined PFLAG and had even offered to help with the GSA’s bake sale fundraiser for the school’s first Queer Prom.

Jared had also finally come out to his own parents, and while they hadn’t been particularly upset by it, they had once and for all put an end to Jared’s sleepovers with Evan and Connor.

A new tradition had thus been established － weekly movie and game night at Evan’s. Heidi worked the night shift Fridays, and as long as her home was in one piece the next day, she didn’t really care if Evan’s friends came over. They had finally managed to convince Alana to drop a few clubs in order to make room in her schedule for the weekly event, which also meant that Zoe was a frequent attendee.

After a particularly brutal game of Jenga that Jared and Connor still refused to speak of, it had been decided that they had to play low-stress games for everyone, but especially Evan’s, benefit. That usually meant the five of them huddled around Evan’s coffee table playing Clue or Cards Against Humanity with a movie or tv show on in the background.

It was a nice way for all five teens to unwind, usually. Tonight, not so much.

Tonight, they couldn’t come to an agreement on what to watch. Alana and Connor were advocating for a foreign film, but Zoe kept pointing out that they would have to read the subtitles to follow it and once they started playing Cards Against Humanity, they wouldn’t have any idea what was going on. Jared had been aggressively campaigning for _The Great Gatsby,_ mostly do to his undying crush on Leonardo DiCaprio, but no one was really paying any attention to him.

Evan sat in the midst of the chaos, studying the coffee table and biting his nails. If he looked closely enough, he could see the infamous scratch Jared had left following his defeat during The Great Jenga Battle. The bit of black nail polish Evan had spilled when he had tried to paint Connor’s nails for the first time was also visible. Connor had been having a rough week at home, so Evan had wanted to do something to cheer him up. His nails had never looked worse, but Connor hadn’t really seemed to mind. That might have been just for Evan’s sake, though.

“Evan? What do you think?” Alana’s voice cut through his thoughts, making him jump slightly. He opened his mouth, letting his chewed up, spit-covered fingers fall back onto his lap. Shrugging, Evan kept his gaze locked on the table.

“Hey man...are you okay?” Jared asked, exchanging a look with Connor. Evan wanted to roll his eyes because no, he wasn’t entirely okay but it wasn’t their faults and they just wanted to help but he didn’t want this to be a big deal and now it was going to be a big deal because he couldn’t keep his anxiety under control and now they were all going to make it into this big thing and Evan didn’t want that and－

“Relax,” Zoe said quietly from his left. She leaned in to wrap a gentle arm around him, rubbing his back comfortingly. A few months ago, this would have only made him feel even more anxious, but he had thankfully managed to get over his crush on Zoe once he realized how happy she was with Alana.

Now, he leaned into her touch, grateful to be surrounded by his best friends.

“I’m bi.” Evan flushed, his gaze locked on the black stain on the table. “Um, I realized it a little while ago but I don’t think I was really ready to tell anyone. Not because I don’t trust you guys, because _I do_. Obviously, I do. I just didn’t really know what to do with the information? Like, I thought I only liked girls for so long but then I realized that I like both. And that was different and I didn’t know how to handle that at first. Not that I was, like, ashamed or anything, but more surprised, I guess?”

Evan finally looked up, not entirely sure what he was expecting. Thankfully, no one seemed too shocked.

“Nice,” Zoe grinned, continuing to rub soothing circles on his back.

“Oh no, we lost our token heterosexual,” Jared fake-gasped, before smirking at Evan. “Ev, my friend, I could have told you that you liked dudes years ago. But thanks for finally telling us, buddy.”

Alana nodded, beaming at him with pride.

“Yes, thank you so much for trusting us with this! Have you told anyone else yet? Does your mother want to join PFLAG? My father’s the chapter president, so just let me know! Actually, wait, I’ll give you his phone number to give to your mother.”

She began scrambling for a piece of paper to write on, and Evan couldn’t help but smile. What had he ever done to deserve such loving, accepting friends?

“Wait, does this mean Connor and I can engage in an epic battle for your love?!” Jared exclaimed with a joking grin. Both Zoe and Evan laughed at that, and Connor affectionately rolled his eyes.

“I’m Team Jared,” Zoe replied, high-fiving the boy with the glasses.

“Hell yes. I knew there was a reason you were my favorite, Murphy.”

“Fuck you, Team Connor’s much better,” Connor said, leaning across Evan to lightly shove Zoe. Of course, this led to Evan having to duck to avoid being hit with one of the decorative pillows his mother kept on the couch.

“Although, we wouldn’t have to fight at all if you would just suck it up and admit your undying love for me, Con Con.”

“In your dreams, Kleinman,” Connor scoffed, slumping back and crossing his arms. A faint shade of pink settled on his cheeks, though, ruining his tough and uncaring exterior.

“Wait, is that － Connor, are you _blushing?!”_

“Leave the poor boy alone,” Alana said, ducking back into the room from the kitchen, a scrap of paper in her hand. “Here, Evan. When or if you tell Heidi and she wants to join, there’s my dad’s number.”

“Thanks, Alana,” Evan smiled, accepting the paper. He glanced back up at his friends. “Um, and thanks.”

“Anytime,” Zoe pulled him into a hug.

“GROUP HUG!” Jared screamed, launching himself over the table to hug Evan. Even Alana, who wasn’t always the biggest fan of physical contact, managed to wrap an arm around Zoe. Connor tugged Evan close, burying his head in Evan’s shoulder. Evan had never felt warmer or more at ease － his friends were more than he could have ever wished for. He was so glad he had met them all and even more glad that they had given him a place to belong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow wow wow, this is cheesy. Oh well. 
> 
> Thank you for reading this fluffy mess! I hope you enjoyed it. 
> 
> If you want to, leave a comment or kudos. Thanks!
> 
> And Happy Pride :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy this!
> 
> It doesn't really focus on any ships, although Galaxy Gals/Zolana will be canon in later chapters. There are little hints at pre-Kleinsen or pre-Tree Bros, but neither one of those actually happen because 1) This story isn't about ships and 2) I want everyone, Tree Bros and Kleinsen shippers alike, to enjoy this. This was really just more to focus on the DEH kids developing healthy friendships and learning how to accept themselves. 
> 
> Thanks to Vivi, as always, for editing!


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